The invention relates to a faceplate assembly for an electrical box. More particularly, the invention relates to a faceplate assembly for a telecommunications box. Still more particularly, the invention relates to a faceplate assembly for a telecommunications box having a plate for covering the box, at least one aperture in the plate, at least two modules adapted to fit within the at least one plate aperture, each module having either a blank front face or at least one opening in the front face for accessing a wiring device receptacle contained within the box, and holes in the plate for receiving fasteners for securing the plate to the box. When the plate has been securely fastened to the box, modules may be removed and installed without removing the plate from the box. A wiring device is received by the wiring device receptacle through the opening in the module.
Faceplates are widely used in the wiring industry to cover electrical boxes. All electrical boxes are not configured in the same way. For example, an electrical box that has two wiring device receptacles may have the two wiring device receptacles aligned vertically, while another box may have the two wiring device receptacles aligned horizontally. Since existing faceplate assemblies are adapted to be used on only one style electrical box configuration, inventory stores are required to stock two different faceplate assemblies to accommodate the two different electrical box configurations. For a location with many different styles of electrical box configurations, a large inventory of different faceplates is required to cover the wide range of electrical box configurations.
Typically, faceplates must be removed from the electrical box to remove or install an insert that receives a receptacle. This is because the insert is rear loading, i.e., the insert is installed in the faceplate from the rear side. Once the faceplate is removed from the box, the insert may be removed from or installed in the faceplate. Then the faceplate may be refastened to the box. This process is time consuming and inefficient.
Many other existing faceplates utilize inserts that are mechanically fastened to the electrical box. In order to remove or install such an insert, the fasteners must be removed from the insert, which causes the faceplate to be removed from the box in addition to the insert. Once the insert and faceplate have been removed from the box, the insert may be removed from or installed in the faceplate. The faceplate and insert are then aligned with the box, and the insert is refastened to the box. Again, this is a time consuming and inefficient procedure for simply removing or installing a receptacle-receiving insert in a faceplate assembly.
Examples of existing faceplate assemblies are disclosed in the following disclosures: U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,875 to Kesler et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,135 to Berlin et al.; and Intermatic Weathertight Receptacle Cover Installation Instructions.
Thus, there is a continuing need t provide improved faceplate assemblies.
Accordingly, it is a primary objective of the invention to provide a faceplate assembly that is compatible with a wide variety of electrical box configurations, thereby reducing the need for maintaining a large inventory of different faceplate assemblies.
Another object of the invention is to provide a faceplate assembly for which the receptacle-receiving insert or module is front loading, thereby eliminating the need to remove the faceplate to remove or install the module.
Another object of the invention is to provide a faceplate assembly having a module that is quickly and easily removed or installed, thereby providing a quick and efficient procedure.
The foregoing objects are basically attainable by providing a faceplate assembly for an electrical box comprising a plate for covering the electrical box, the plate having at least one aperture and a plurality of holes in the plate for connecting the plate to the box with a plurality of fasteners; and at least two modules adapted to fit in the at least one plate aperture, each module having a blank face or at least one opening for accessing a wiring device receptacle in the box with a wiring device.